This was a theme we all struggled with, for what reason I am not sure. Arrows indicate direction, and most of us are pretty content if we have direction, and if the paths in life were so well labeled wouldn't all our decisions be oh-so-easy? Fulfilment is at the next left, a little further on to the right is happiness, you will know you are there when you have passed comfort and security. Don't be fooled and take wealth arrow, because wealth is not where happiness is at - although that road is very smooth and well-paved. They have the money to build nice roads and even put in some street lights, so the going may seem easy but joy and happiness are not necessarily down that way - depends on your map though.
I bought myself a book recently, I mentioned I am nurturing my creativity and this book is about personal maps. Creatively putting down on paper your journey from there to here, and from here to . . . well, who can say for sure. For me it is a good way to understand what makes me happy, and to have a visual understanding of my journey, where I am on the road because I can see where I have come from and where I am headed. I don't think I believe in fate, because that would mean like a GPS, our way through this world is already mapped out and we just get to be lead by the nose. I think we are in charge of our destinies, we get to choose our paths for sure, but I do believe in synchronicity - unrelated events coinciding at an unlikely point in time but occurring in a meaningful manner. Like going on a road trip only to discover that unexpected surprise that made you want to change your plans.
My photo this week:
I just liked this one, even though I had to stand in the middle of a busy intersection with my unruly dog trying to operate my iPhone wearing clunky gloves. Touch screens don't work with gloves on - you South Africans wouldn't know that, but they don't. And I nearly dropped my phone in the puddle trying to prove it.
Claire's photo - beautiful as always, she truly does find the art in everyday things, it's a gift:
And next is Mariette, hers was not what she wanted, she took another photo in the dark and snow which I think is actually pretty cool - visit her blog to see what I am talking about - still, this one does the trick and given the week she has had you can't ask for more than that! I like that she included a slither of horizon and you just can't see where the arrow leads.
And finally, my dear sister-in-law who swam a mile on a windy day in open water in 43 minutes! Well done Linda! Her picture reminds me how many 'commands' get thrown at you at once sometimes:
Originally I didn't think I would be able to take a photo, I have had a challenging week myself and so when my sister posted her blog, I was just going to steal her photo (sisters can do that, clothes, shoes, lipstick, photos, Tupperware - they are all interchangeable and you only have to return them if asked, otherwise they become yours. It's the rule). Here is Heids/my photo:
The end is right over there. She also wrote a beautiful blog about ends and beginnings, and nothing is ever truly the end, everything always, always continues - just different than it was before. Ends are just new beginnings, it is about transition after all. Transitions and choice. Too true.
Finally, the end of my blog and the beginning of next week's theme. But I snapped this too on my walk the other day and in honor of cupid this week, just had to include it!
Happy week everyone!
Shapes - I thought I would photograph people, they come in all shapes and sizes. But when I went out to clean up after the chickens this week and found three little eggs sitting in the nesting box my people idea flew out the window! We have EGGS!! My chickens are exiting adolescence, they are all grown up and are giving back! Not only in the form of sustenance, but in material for my blog:
And the feather is beautiful, it was very artfully positioned but not by me, by my hen! Creative little chicken ;-)
Mariette's photo also has feathers in it. She has grown so much as a photographer over the last year, really, and this week her pic is just beautiful. You have gone and done it now Mariette, you have raised the bar of expectation that I have when I open your photo each week - there is no going back, the pressure is on!
Claire sent through a shape that we have been challenged to decipher and whilst it feels familiar, it is just beyond my grasp. She is planning to post the answer today, and I thought that if I held off I might be able to cheat and see the answer before my post but alas, Claire is smarter than that and is patiently waiting. Do you have any guesses?
Linda brings in the rear this week with her photo, just beautiful and romantic and very Linda. Her curtain tie backs which have yet to be hung:
The time to enjoy something this pretty Linda is NOW. Set some time aside this Saturday or Sunday or soon and make a commitment to get them up (Happy Valentines day to myself from myself) so that you can love them every day. Lovely photo, I love all the textures.
Something else has been the theme of this week, for me anyway. I think following the journey of my fellow bloggers and reading their heartfelt posts about adversity, challenge, triumph and peace I have come to realize that there there is truth in that cliched saying about standing up after you have taken a fall. No matter what happens to us, no matter what less traveled road our journey takes us on or the obstacles put in our path, there are so many examples of people who have overcome the most adverse circumstances to find peace, happiness and success that you have no choice but to believe that we are powerful, and we can change, we can make a difference.
As in Paulo Coelho's book 'The Alchemist' - which you absolutely MUST read if you haven't, I think it should be required reading in high school - each of us set out to live our own personal legend, part of living that legend means letting go of and making peace with situations and experiences that only serve as weight in our backpacks, pain, regret, anger and what I call the 'victim mindset' are all things that make the journey difficult and the going slow. Take them out of your backpack, look to the horizon and you will move swiftly towards your personal legend.
The pain and regret we leave beside the road are still a part of us, we are still affected by those experiences, they just don't need to cripple us, they don't need to define our present or our future. They tell us where we have come from, not who we are or will be. We shape our own destiny, and there are no victims here, only conquerors.
